"We have to get a form from Mr. Li. Afterwards; there will be a competition between all the applicants in Arena 1. The matches will be evaluated by some higher-ups and they'll ultimately decide who's going to be on the team. Cake walk huh?" Kyle explained.
"Yeah sounds great…" I replied sarcastically.
"Thing is, you can already count 3 of those 6 spots out." He grinned.
"Why? What do you mean?" I asked.
"Alice, P.P.T, and Myst are going to get in, hands down." He said matter-of-factly. "Let's go get the forms."
"Who's Myst? And you're applying too?" I asked, following him.
"Myst is the strongest junior excluding those in the council, and tier 2. I wasn't planning on applying but since you are, I guess I can too. Just to keep you company." Kyle said, rounding the corner to Mr. Li's office. He knocked lightly on the door.
"Cool, how many people usually apply do you know?"
"About 75% of the juniors apply." Kyle said. "You nervous?"
Just then Mr. Li opened the door. "Well, hello kids. What brings you around here?"
"Can you give us two forms for the tournament against the Royals?" Kyle asked.
"Oh? You kids are planning on applying?" Mr. Li directed the question more towards me.
I nodded. Mr. Li looked pleased, handing us each a form.
"Then I wish you all the best." He said.
I stared at the form in my hand, and slowly filled it out. Step one was complete. But a major problem still remained. How was I going to be chosen for the team if I couldn't even use my elements? The competitions were starting 2 days from now…there was hardly any time for me to train.
That day, I woke up extra early again. I decided to pay a visit to the sleep-Tai Chi-ing Emperor. As I'd expected, Emperor Chen Long was doing Tai Chi on the 3rd floor balcony once again. I approached him quietly like last time, and like last time, he noticed me right away.
"Still so nervous?" Chen Long asked. "Actually join me this time, boy."
"Master Chen Long." I greeted him respectfully with a bow. I began to mimic his movements because I had no idea how to do Tai Chi.
"Relax. Your shoulders are too stiff, bend your knees." He said.
I glanced at him and did as he instructed. He looked so peaceful and graceful when he moved.
"Every movement you make, pretend there's an opposing force, don't just move your limbs uselessly like that." He chuckled.
"Oh. Alright, like this?" I asked.
"Ah yes! That's better. Just like that."
I nodded, focusing on my movements and thinking about the upcoming competition.
"Let go. You're too tense again."
A pause.
"Something on your mind, boy?" Chen Long asked innocently.
"Uhm you could say that. I can't control my elements and there's a competition in two days. I'll lose for sure if I can't bring them out." I confessed.
After I finished talking, Chen Long stopped moving, stayed very still, and remained quiet for a few moments.
"Interesting…" He finally said.
I was confused. Chen Long had stopped doing Tai Chi, was that my fault? Had I interrupted him too much?
"You worry too much. Your body is too tense, your mind is too tense. Relax, and take several deep breaths. Clear your mind." He instructed.
I did as told, and managed to somewhat clear my mind.
"Good enough. Now try again, pull out your elements."
I summoned them all up. It felt different this time; I could feel them as individuals and not as a bundle. Slowly, one by one, they all came to the surface. I could feel the air around me shift and change as my aura grew.
"Truly interesting. It would appear that you really are a genius." Chen Long praised.
"Thank you Emperor Chen Long!" I beamed. I couldn't believe my ears. To be honest, just being in his presence was a huge incentive though. There was no room for failure, and I felt the need to impress him. Despite all that, I was still somehow able to clear my mind…in a way, being near him was stressful but oddly relaxing.
But it would seem there was no time to rejoice; as soon as I finally formed my aura I felt it begin to dissipate.
"Mmm…" Chen Long frowned disapprovingly. He began rummaging through his robe. "I suppose I could help you."
I stared at him, not comprehending his words, and concentrating all the energy I had into keeping my aura.
Chen Long pulled out what I thought was 6 individual rings at first, but turned out to be one ring made of 6 ring bands that were intertwined. Almost immediately, I felt my aura being pulled into the small silver ring. "Don't worry."
What is going on? Eventually, the suction feeling stopped, and I was completely drained of all my energy. I collapsed but Chen Long caught me before I fell.
"Your powers are still immature." He smiled. "It's impossible for you to master them in two days. What I did just now was store all that energy you released inside of this ring. For the days leading up to the competition, continue to store your energy inside the ring. When it comes time to do battle, draw it out and you will be able to use elements of your choosing."
"I see…but if I may ask, why are you helping me?"
"Storing energy is simple. Just do what you did today, and the ring will do the rest for you. Now, drawing out elements from the ring is a little trickier but still quite simple. Here you see 6 ring bands correct?" Chen Long asked, ignoring my question.
I nodded my head yes.
"Good. Now each of these rings holds an element, when you hover your finger over them you'll know which one. I know your body contains more than 6 elements but 6 is the limit for this ring. Though 6 should be more than enough. Anyways, just use a bit of energy and you'll be able to pull that element out; this is a special ring that links up with your mind."
"Thank you so much! But where did you get this ring?"
"The weather is beautiful, Fuji will be happy today. It's warm and he doesn't have to come fetch me. Does that answer your question?"
You're kidding me. Emperor Chen Long only helped me because I captured his interest long enough to wake him up, thus Emperor Fuji wouldn't have to come do it. He was helping me because now Fuji wouldn't be mad at him.
"Uhm, yes, thank you."
"I must go now, for once I think I'll be giving Fuji the wake up call. Good bye, boy." Chen Long chuckled to himself, walking away.
When I saw Kyle, I told him I wanted to train before class.
"Sure buddy, we can go to Arena 4." He said.
"Great, I want to test something out. Thanks."
We arrived at Arena 4, and low and behold, there was Larry and his posse. I wasn't here to pick a fight however, and so I hoped he wouldn't notice our arrival. No luck.
"Well well well." Larry said disdainfully as he came over. "What have we here?"
"Two midgets." His friends chimed in.
"Hey. Shut up." I retorted, trying to walk past them.
"Oh? Looks like you're the only coward here." Larry spat. "Where did all of that confidence go, little freshman? I thought you were gunna take me down?"
"I will. Just not today, now, if you'll excuse us."
"I—," Larry began.
"Larry. Just stop, it's too early for this. If you want a match, have an official one. Register for the tournament against the Royals." Kyle interrupted. "I'm sure you'll have a chance to face off during eliminations."
"Hah, you don't have to tell me twice. We've already registered. You two are going down." Larry said, pointing his thumbs down. "See you later, midgets."
"I'm a midget that'll kick your ass." Kyle muttered under his breath. "Forget the idiot, let's start."
We entered the Arena, facing each other. I was interested to see what Kyle's fighting style was. I wasn't going to let my guard down just because he was small. We bowed respectfully and began.
Kyle and I charged at each other simultaneously. Our arms locked, so Kyle tried to roundhouse kick me in the face. I dodged, tapping into one of the rings. Ice. I immediately drew it out and formed a razor sharp dagger. Kyle's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly recovered, he backed up putting space between us. I lunged forward, and he threw a punch at me. It won't hit me, I thought, he's too far away. But just as I thought that, a hit connected with my face. I crashed into the ground, hard.
Impossible. He was so far away. How did he land a hit?
"You must be wondering how I hit you from so far away." Kyle said, standing above me, getting ready for a finishing blow.
Before he could continue any further I quickly tapped into the second ring. Earth. I pulled up the ground and deflected his blow with it. Immediately after that, I tapped into yet another ring, fire. I concentrated it into my palm and blasted it in Kyle's direction. The blast created a blanket of smoke that made the visibility zero. I waited for it to clear. When it let up a bit, I could see Kyle, he was unharmed. Next thing I know, he was right next to me, and I'd just been kicked in the gut. I could see stars, but there was no time to catch my breath. Kyle landed twelve consecutive hits in the next few seconds. I was having a hard time staying conscious.
Mustering all the strength I had left, I tapped into the fourth ring. This power was something completely different. Element of hypnosis. Suddenly, Kyle stopped his assault. He looked extremely confused, and scared.
"Nathan?" He called out in the opposite direction of where I was. "What is this? Where am I?"
I didn't respond, we were in the middle of a fight after all. I tapped into the Element of Ice and encased Kyle in a prison of ice. As soon as I finished, I released the illusion and he snapped back to reality. Sweat was dripping from his forehead even though he was trapped in ice. At that moment, I finally understood what his ability was. Agility. He could move quicker than my eye could follow. However, trapped in ice, no matter how fast he could move, it was no use.
"Well it would appear that I've lost." He chuckled. "I give. You win this one Nathan."
"You were one hell of an opponent, thank you for training with me." I said, while dispelling the ice. "Cold?"
"Uh, well duh. How did you master those elements so quickly? Those were really high level techniques." Kyle said with a hint of envy in his voice.
"Long story…" I began to say, but suddenly felt very weak and light headed. Everything around me began to fade, and a vast endless pitch of blackness engulfed me.